Rapper Kodak Black Arrested at Border in Upstate New York

Kodak Black, in 2017. The rapper was remanded to county jail after being arrested at the U.S.-Canada border.CreditCreditJordan Strauss/Invision, via Associated Press

By The Associated Press

April 18, 2019

LEWISTON, N.Y. — The rapper Kodak Black was arrested on drug and weapons charges as he tried to cross from Canada into the United States near Niagara Falls, law enforcement officials said Thursday.

Kodak Black, 21, whose legal name is Bill Kapri, was among three people traveling in a Cadillac Escalade with temporary California registration across the Lewiston-Queenston International Bridge at 7:20 p.m. Wednesday, the New York State Police said. It was unclear where the men were headed, but Kodak Black had been scheduled to perform that night in Boston, about 400 miles east.

The men admitted to border agents that they possessed marijuana and firearms. The state police said that Kodak Black was found with marijuana and that officers discovered a Glock 9-millimeter pistol in the vehicle.

The rapper was arrested on charges of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and unlawful possession of marijuana. He was arraigned and remanded to county jail with bail set at $20,000 cash or $40,000.

Kodak Black, who is from Miramar, Fla., is scheduled to stand trial this spring on charges of criminal sexual conduct, stemming from a 2016 incident in South Carolina in which he is accused of sexually assaulting a young woman at a hotel following a concert. According to the incident report, he bit the victim and told her “that he could not help himself.” She reported the attack to her school resource officer.

Kodak Black was in jail Thursday morning, and it was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer. Representatives at his record label and at the event-promotion company Live Nation didn’t reply to emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Kodak Black is best known for songs including “Zeze” and “No Flockin.” His album “Dying to Live” reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart in December 2018; it was his first release since getting out of jail that August after serving a sentence for weapon and drug charges and a probation violation.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page C2 of the New York edition with the headline: Kodak Black Arrested Near Canadian Border. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe